Rajbanshi
Encyclopedia
Rajbanshi. According to the local myths, their ancestor Koch king Hajo established the kingdom of Kampur by the end of 15th century. There is also another legend concerning the ancestry of the Rajbanshis. When Parshuram had started destroying the Chhetria dynasty in India as his father's revenge, the Chhetri kings and their people escaped to save their lives. Ancestors of Rajbanshis themselves being Chhetries fled and started living in the forests of Nepal's Morang and Jhapa by hiding. In context of Nepal, King Prithvi Narayan Shah
annexed the kingdom of the Rajbanshis into a unified Nepal state.
From the perspective of physical anthropology, the body structure of the Rajbanshis of Nepal looks like that of Mangol-Dravid people. Howerer, in complexion, they bear a resemblance to the Aryas.
The Rajbanshis call themselves the descendants of Suryabansi and revealtheir lineage (gotra
) to be Kashyap
. They follow Chhetri character and customs and add Singh and Rajbanshi to their names.The Koches call themselves the Rajput Chhetris. It is also said that Koch, Bhadai, Paliya, and Deshi including the Rajbanshi caste are the Dravidian
castes of north-east and east Bengal. They are also thought to be the mixture of the Mongolian blood but they use Brahmins as priests in some of their religious rituals and follow the Hindu religion. There is no discrimination by status and level in their community. They can marry their co-lineage partners under the conditions of seven generations’ gap.
There are different kinds of Rajbanshis such as Koch Rajbabshi, Poundra Rajbabshi, Mech Rajbabshi, Newar Rajbanshi, Thakuri Rajbanshi and Khataha Rajbanshi. Like in Nepal, Ridge (1991), referring to Risely (1967), writes that there are also many types of sub-castes of the Koch Rajbanshisin the North Bengal, India such as Paliya, Sadhupaliya, Babupaliya, Deshi, Domasir, Modasi, Jaluwa, Tongriya, Khopriya, Gobriya, Kantai,Dhalai,Tiyar and Koch. These sub-castes of the Rajbabshis in India are not found in Nepal.
The first major king was Vishwa Singha, who established himself in 1515 as the ruler of the Kamata
kingdom after the Khen dynasty
was defeated by Alauddin Hussein Shah in 1498. According to J N Sarkar Viswa Singha belonged to one of the dominant Koch tribes, which were a collection of Mongoloid tribes. "Minjahuddin found the features of the Koch, Mech and Tharu tribes similar to a south Siberian tribe. Bryan Hodgson classes the Koches with the Bodo
and Dhimal
tribes. Buchanan agrees. Dalton takes them to be Dravidian. But Risley thinks they represented a fusion of Mongoloid and Dravidian stock, with the later predominating. According to Waddell Mongoloid type of Koches predominated in Assam." loosely allied to the Meches, Garos, Tharus and also Dravidians. They had adopted Hinduism a few generations before Vishwa Singha and claimed the Kshatriya varna. The earliest known ancestor of Viswa Singha was Haria Mandal, from the Chiknabari village in Goalpara district
, the head of the twelve most powerful Koch families. He was married to Jira and Hira, daughters of a Koch chief named Hajo, after whom Koch Hajo was named. Viswa Singha was the son of Haria Mandal and Hira. But according to some Koch chronicles, a son of Haria Mandal, Chandan, became the king in 1510. Vishwa Singha, another son of Haria Mandal, became the king after Chandan.
Koch also called Rajbanshi, ethnic group of the Bodo people, dispersed over. The greatest monarch of the dynasty was Nar Narayan, the son of Biswa Singh. Koch Rajbongshi is an ancient tribe originally from the ancient Koch Kingdom. The Rajbongshi Tribe is referred to as Koch Rajbongshi/Rajbanshi/Rajvanshi. The word Rajbongshi means literally "royal community". They have a rich cultural heritage and their own language. The Rajbanshi language has a complete grammar. The main dialects are Western Rajbanshi, Central Rajbanshi, Eastern Rajbanshi and Rajbanshi hills also known as Koch language.
Prithvi Narayan Shah
Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Nepal was the first king of the House of Shahs to rule Nepal. He is credited for starting the campaign for a unified Nepal, which had been divided and weakened under Malla confederacy. He was the ninth generation descendant of Dravya Shah , the founder of the ruling...
annexed the kingdom of the Rajbanshis into a unified Nepal state.
From the perspective of physical anthropology, the body structure of the Rajbanshis of Nepal looks like that of Mangol-Dravid people. Howerer, in complexion, they bear a resemblance to the Aryas.
The Rajbanshis call themselves the descendants of Suryabansi and revealtheir lineage (gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
) to be Kashyap
Kashyap
Kashyapa was an ancient sage , who is one of the Saptarshis in the present Manvantara; with others being Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Bharadwaja...
. They follow Chhetri character and customs and add Singh and Rajbanshi to their names.The Koches call themselves the Rajput Chhetris. It is also said that Koch, Bhadai, Paliya, and Deshi including the Rajbanshi caste are the Dravidian
Dravidian peoples
Dravidian peoples is a term used to refer to the diverse groups of people who natively speak languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. Populations of speakers of around 220 million are found mostly in Southern India. Other Dravidian people are found in parts of central India, Sri Lanka,...
castes of north-east and east Bengal. They are also thought to be the mixture of the Mongolian blood but they use Brahmins as priests in some of their religious rituals and follow the Hindu religion. There is no discrimination by status and level in their community. They can marry their co-lineage partners under the conditions of seven generations’ gap.
There are different kinds of Rajbanshis such as Koch Rajbabshi, Poundra Rajbabshi, Mech Rajbabshi, Newar Rajbanshi, Thakuri Rajbanshi and Khataha Rajbanshi. Like in Nepal, Ridge (1991), referring to Risely (1967), writes that there are also many types of sub-castes of the Koch Rajbanshisin the North Bengal, India such as Paliya, Sadhupaliya, Babupaliya, Deshi, Domasir, Modasi, Jaluwa, Tongriya, Khopriya, Gobriya, Kantai,Dhalai,Tiyar and Koch. These sub-castes of the Rajbabshis in India are not found in Nepal.
The first major king was Vishwa Singha, who established himself in 1515 as the ruler of the Kamata
Kamata
- Geography and History :*Kamata, Ōta, Tokyo, a neighborhood in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.*Kamata Kingdom, a former kingdom of the 13th century, Assam, India.- People :*Pedro Kamata, an Angola born Congolese-French footballer.*Tor Kamata, an American-Canadian wrestler....
kingdom after the Khen dynasty
Khen dynasty
The Khen dynasty of Assam replaced the Pala dynasty in the 12th century. Their accession marks the end of the Kamarupa kingdom, and the beginning of the Kamata kingdom....
was defeated by Alauddin Hussein Shah in 1498. According to J N Sarkar Viswa Singha belonged to one of the dominant Koch tribes, which were a collection of Mongoloid tribes. "Minjahuddin found the features of the Koch, Mech and Tharu tribes similar to a south Siberian tribe. Bryan Hodgson classes the Koches with the Bodo
Bodo
- Locations :* Bodø, A city in Norway*Bodo, Alberta, a hamlet in Central Alberta, Canada, close to the Saskatchewan border.*Bodo , a town and commune in Côte d'Ivoire*BoDo, a district of Boise, ID; the name of which stems from Boise Downtown....
and Dhimal
Dhimal
Dhimal or Dhemal is a little known indigenous community of the Terai. They mainly reside in Morang and Jhapa districts of Nepal and Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India...
tribes. Buchanan agrees. Dalton takes them to be Dravidian. But Risley thinks they represented a fusion of Mongoloid and Dravidian stock, with the later predominating. According to Waddell Mongoloid type of Koches predominated in Assam." loosely allied to the Meches, Garos, Tharus and also Dravidians. They had adopted Hinduism a few generations before Vishwa Singha and claimed the Kshatriya varna. The earliest known ancestor of Viswa Singha was Haria Mandal, from the Chiknabari village in Goalpara district
Goalpara District
Goalpara district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located in Goalpara town.-History:...
, the head of the twelve most powerful Koch families. He was married to Jira and Hira, daughters of a Koch chief named Hajo, after whom Koch Hajo was named. Viswa Singha was the son of Haria Mandal and Hira. But according to some Koch chronicles, a son of Haria Mandal, Chandan, became the king in 1510. Vishwa Singha, another son of Haria Mandal, became the king after Chandan.
Rulers of undivided Koch kingdom
- Maharaja Chandan
- Biswa Singha (1515–1540)
- Nara NarayanNara NarayanMaharaja Naranarayan was the third and last ruler of the undivided Koch kingdom of Kamata. He succeeded his father Biswa Singha. Under him the Koch kingdom reached its cultural and political zenith. He introduced a silver coin, called the Narayani, that greatly influenced the numismatics of Assam...
(1540–1586)
Koch also called Rajbanshi, ethnic group of the Bodo people, dispersed over. The greatest monarch of the dynasty was Nar Narayan, the son of Biswa Singh. Koch Rajbongshi is an ancient tribe originally from the ancient Koch Kingdom. The Rajbongshi Tribe is referred to as Koch Rajbongshi/Rajbanshi/Rajvanshi. The word Rajbongshi means literally "royal community". They have a rich cultural heritage and their own language. The Rajbanshi language has a complete grammar. The main dialects are Western Rajbanshi, Central Rajbanshi, Eastern Rajbanshi and Rajbanshi hills also known as Koch language.